A look at the top fixtures, kits and a Best Bet for Matchweek 1

LAS VEGAS – With the Premier League kickoff commencing Friday when Manchester United hosts Fulham (12 p.m. PST, USA, NBC Universo) here is my take on Round 1/38 of league play.

KEY FIXTURES

Manchester United v Fulham

The Premier League season begins in style as Fulham visits the Theatre of Dreams to face the reigning and defending FA Cup Champion Manchester United, who is looking to better an 8th place League finish last term. Fulham is set on a top half finish this go after finishing 12th last season. If you recall, Fulham got a rare win in 90+ minutes in its last visit to Old Trafford. See my EPL Preview for detailed analysis on MUN. Marco Silva has FUL in an optimistic place heading into the new campaign. Emile Smith Rowe comes in from Arsenal and this is a Fulham squad who won’t be intimidated going to Manchester. I would think these are two upper-half table squads by season’s end we will see competing Friday.

For a comprehensive view of the MUNFUL fixture from a historical perspective, go to https://fbref.com/en/stathead/matchup/teams/fd962109/19538871/Fulham-vs-Manchester-United-History

PROJECTED STARTING XI’s (Subject to change)

• MUN: Onana, Dalot, Martinez, de Ligt, Mazraoui, Casemiro, Mainoo, Rashford, Fernandes, Ahmad, Zirkzee
• FUL: Leno, Castagne, Diop, Bassey, Robinson, Reed, Lukic, Pereira, Iwobi, Smith Rowe, Muniz

*Creator’s Note*: The author of this writing is a serious, objective Man Utd supporter.

WEST HAM v ASTON VILLA

Similar to MUNFUL, when West Ham and Aston Villa clash Saturday morning (9;30 a.m. PST, NBC, NBC Universo) we should be inspecting two upper-half-of-the-table clubs come May. In my EPL Preview, I tabbed AVL for 5th place finish and RECC’D an AVL T6 Position (+50) to whomever fancies it. This new times and new beliefs for West Ham in the Julien Lopategui era. The Hammers did good to bring Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Man Utd) and Max Kilman (Wolves) to the squad. AVL young star man Ollie Watkins didn’t play in the preseason after his EURO service but I would think Unai Emery will tab him for Saturday. A proper opening weekend joust at London Stadium, this.

For a comprehensive dive into the WHUAVL fixture from a historical perspective, go to https://fbref.com/en/stathead/matchup/teams/8602292d/7c21e445/Aston-Villa-vs-West-Ham-United-History

PROJECTED STARTING XI’s (subject to change)

• WHU: Areola, Coufal, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson, Ward-Prowse, Rodriguez, Kudus, Bowen, Paqueta; Fullkrug
• AVL: Martinez, Maarten, Konsa, Torres, Moreno, Bailey, Onana, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers, Watkins

CHELSEA v CITY

Well it’s a clash of classic Big 6 sides on Kickoff Weekend (Sunday, 8:30 a.m. PST, NBC, NBC Universo), isn’t it. CHE is a mangled mess desperate for any sign of normalcy. Some of the injuries the club is battling doesn’t help. City is looking for an unprecedented 5th consecutive League crown whilst simultaneously staring down the barrel of 115 FFP charges. Even so, it would take a huge effort for The Blues to get a result even at Stamford Bridge. City won the Community Shield on PK’s last week and I think the Citizens are more likely to hit the ground running.

The CHEMCI Fixture from a historical perspective courtesy of FB Reference. For a comprehensive dive into this fixture, go to https://fbref.com/en/stathead/matchup/teams/cff3d9bb/b8fd03ef/Chelsea-vs-Manchester-City-History

PROJECTED STARTING XI’s (subject to change)

• CHE: Sanchez, Gusto, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella, Fernandez, Caicedo, Neto, Palmer, Mudryk, Jackson
• MCI: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Savinho, Silva, De Bruyne, Doku, Haaland

KIT MATCHUP OF THE WEEK

Something new for my audience this go as, weekly, I’ll pick one or more fixtures where the kit matchup is ascetically pleasing.

This week KMOTW: ARSWOL

Assuming the Wolves wear the away and not the home kit, this is a kit matchup to behold. Very distinct colors. Easy to differentiate. Crisp. The Arsenal home kit is timeless. This new age Wolves away kit is trendy. It’s hard to screw up black kits.

MW1 Positions EPL

Note: Light reentry into the market as the new EPL season kicks off. Nothing crazy. There’s 38 rounds to make money. I feel better about the week to week than I do playing futures at smallish pricing over 9 months this term. As for the play…

MW1 Play of the Week: MUNFUL BTTS (-70)

• The last 7 EPL opening fixtures have seen 25 goals.
• BTTS has hit in this fixture 4 of last 5
• Marco Silva (FUL) is unbeaten in 9 opening day fixtures

I look at this like neither team is a bastion of defensive prowess. Man Utd has injuries and is undecided on the back line. Citing Silva’s record in openers, coupled with the fact FUL put two in in its last visit to Old Trafford, I don’t think it’s a huge ask for FUL to get on the board. The three common scores I come up with for this match, 2-1 either way, 1-1, all point to BTTS. Both Teams to Score is the play for me.

As per usual, Good Luck & Play Responsibly

REFERENCES

• Premier League dot com
• FB Reference
• Sports Mole
• NBC Sports
• CBS Sports
• X
• Google